It's been fairly quiet today, but a few rumors involving the Twins are flying around out there...
LEN noted yesterday that the Twins might be "sniffing around Seattle reliever Sean White".
MLB Trade Rumors notes that the Mariners are Ready to Sell, noting that White, Brandon Morrow, and Mark Lowe may all be available in addition to Jarrod Washburn (previously discussed ad nauseum).
Of the three, Lowe is the guy I'd prefer the Twins to target for this year, Morrow if we're looking long term. Sean White looks good on the surface, but he's a reliever who doesn't strike out many batters (4.0 SO/9) and he's been aided by really low BABIP (.239) and HR/FB (3.8%, low even for Safeco Field).
Lowe strikes out more batters (almost 8 per 9 IP) with the same walk rate and a more realistic BABIP (.295). He's also been able to avoid the long ball, 5.5% HR/FB this year compared to 7.6% career.
Morrow has been a real mess this year, walking 31 batters in 46 innings, in line with his career 6.0 BB/9. However, he's the one with "potential", especially as a starting pitcher in a system known for control pitchers.
In other news, the San Francisco Giants pulled off a trade yesterday, snagging Ryan Garko for Scott Barnes, a A-ball pitcher. Considering that the Giants appear to be the Twins' primary competition for Freddy Sanchez, one would hope this satisfies their offensive needs. I doubt it, as San Francisco still has plenty in the tank to upgrade their middle infield and they're still running Edgar Renteria and (now) Eugenio Velez out there. The good news is that Velez had a big night last night (HR, 2B) after being called up. Will the Giants hesitate?